Inspiration always strikes at 3am

Apparently insomnia is good for SOMETHING. Nearly all my good ideas or sudden insights seem to arrive between 2 and 3am as I lie in bed unable to sleep. Last night I had one of those ideas that come all in a sudden flash, instantly filling my mind with a clear vision of what I could/should do.

The question at hand was concerning the art show that myself and a couple friends are planning on having at the beginning of the new year. Lately I've not had any motivation for anything remotely art related, but I thought it would be good to push myself into having to make something. I miss the high productivity that school forced out of me, and having a goal and purpose outside of myself can only lead to good things. Anyhow, I had NO idea what I would do for this show, until last night it suddenly hit me.

I don't want to go into too much detail right now, but it'll be more sculptural (as opposed to paintings), and sort of plays with the idea of a "scientific" study of historical clothing.

All these totally awesome pictures are sort of serving as my visual references for this project.









I can't wait to start working on it!

Too long since we last spoke ::

I am mortified to realize that it's been over a year and a half since I last posted.

A great deal has happened in that time, most importantly, I graduated from Grand Valley State University with my BFA degree. Not content to let that be the summation of my school experience, I am currently applying to several grad schools out east. I'm looking at getting an MFA in costume design, and plan on pursuing costuming as a career as opposed to illustration.

In April (2009) I had my senior show at GVSU ::

The gallery space!

My goal was to create a body of work which somehow encompassed all the things I was/am interested in: historical clothing, the deconstruction of historical accuracy in costumes for theatre, and paintings that support the stories behind the clothing.

I ended up creating two series of costumes: four historically accurate dresses from the beginning of the 19th century, one for each decade (1810, 1820, 1830, and 1840), and four 'fairytale' costumes that were loosely based off late Elizabethan styles. I also had three paintings which accompanied the costumes.

From left to right: 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840

A Farb at Heart

Oil on Board

From left to right: the Prince, the Maiden, and the King

The Queen

The Royal Couple
Oil on Board

Love-shy
Oil on Board

I don't think I've worked so hard on anything in my life as I did when putting my show together, but it was totally worth it! Can't wait for the next big endeavor!

What I've Been Up To

Most of the work I've done in the past couple months is costuming or metal-smithing, but I have a few new paintings... some silly, some not...

This piece was done at a time when it seemed like spring would never arrive. The imagery might be cliche, but in my heart I want to have flowers in my hair and a bird on my finger...

I've recently become enamored with sheep. Who knows where this might go!

Reality in our modern era is irrevocably tied to the past. Sometimes we seem less real than those who came before.

This self-portrait is a small style study that I ending up quite liking.

Let's Pretend

This was the final painting I did in my illustration class last semester. The relationship may have fallen to pieces, but image is still paramount.

From way back when... 2007

Here is a selection of some of the things I was working on last year. There's a bit of illustration, some doll-making, and a smattering of metal-smithing to round things out.

Building Things

All too soon I will start filling this space with my art and various artsy adventures. Once I have this site figured out, things will start to happen...